Trimming mechanism



July 1. 1925;

' 1,544,606 D. s. SEYMOUR 7 TRIMMING MECHANISM Original Filed Feb. 27, 1919 5 Sheets-Sheet l July 7, 1925.

I f D. S. SEYMOUR TRIMMING MECHANISM Original Filed Feb. 27, 1919 5 Sheets-She et s D. s. SEYMOUR July 7, 1925 TRIMMING MECHANISM ori inal Filed Feb. 27, 1919 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 July 1, 1925.

D. s. SEYMOUR -TRIMMING MECHANISM- ori inal Filed Feb. 27. 1919 s She'ets-Sheet 5 Patented July 7, 1925.

UNITED STATES,

PATENT OFFICE.

DUDLEY S. SEYMOUR, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO UNION SPECIAL MACHINE COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION ILLINOIS.

TRIMMING MECHANISM.

Originalapplication filed February 27, 1919., Serial No. 279,507. Divided and this application filed December 20, 1920. Serial No. 431,977.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DUDLEY S. SEYMOUR, a citizen of'the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook, State of Illinois, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Trimming Mecha nisms, of which the following is a description, reference being had to the accompanying drawing and to the figures of reference marked thereon.

The invention relates to new and useful improvements in sewing machines, and more particularly a sewing machine for forming overedge stitches, wherein the fabric is trimmed in advance of the stitching mechanism.

An object of the invention is to provide a machine of the above character wherein the needle, the movable trimmer and one of the loopers are operated from the main lever in the overhanging arm, which in turn is directly actuated fromthe main shaft.

A further object of the invention is to provide a machine of the above character wherein the movable trimming membermay be disconnected from the main'lever so as to render the trimming mechanism inoperative at will. a

These and other objects will in part be obvious and will in part be hereinafter more fully disclose l.

In the drawings which show by way of illustration one embodiment of the invention Figure 1 is a front view of the machine embodying my improvements,

Fig. 2 is a front end view of the machine with a portion of the skirt of the bed plate broken away to show the lower trimmer sup-. port;

Fig. 3 is a view showing in perspective and with the parts separated, the main features of the upper and lower trimming devices and the strip guard;

Fig. 4 is a view in perspective'showing the main lever, its connection to the main operating shaft, and also the manner of connecting said main lever tothe needle bar, the lower looper and the upper movable trimming member;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view through the supporting head for the movable trimming blade showing the manner of disconnecting bracket and the trimming devices viewed r from the rear of the bracket.

In my co-pending application, Serial Number 279,507, filed February 27, 1919, I have shown and described a sewing machine for forming overedge stitches, of which the present application is a division. The present invention is directed to the trimming mechanism and the manner of operating the same. The machine includes an overhanging arm and a work support, which are of the usual type. A reciprocating needle bar mounted in the overhang ing arm carries the needle, and cooperating with this needle arethe necessary elements for forming the overedge stitch. In advance of the stitching mechanism, there is a trimming mechanism which consists of a'lower stationary blade and an upper movable blade. The movable blade is carried by a supporting head which is detachably connected to a vertically reciprocating bar, and this vertically reciprocating bar is in turn connected to a main actuating lever locatedin the overhanging arm, which lever reciprocates'the needle bar and also oscillates the lower looper. The main actuating lever referred to above is oscillated by a direct connection with the main shaft of the machine which is preferably located intermediate the work support, and the overhanging arm so that the operating connection for the main actuating lever is very short and free from excessive vibration when the machine is driven at high speed.

Referring in detail to the drawings, which show one embodiment of the invention, I have shown my improved trimming mechanism and actuating devices therefor as embodied in a sewing machine which includes a bed plate 1 from which rises 21. standard 2 carrying an overhanging arm 3. The material to be trimmed and stitched is carried by a work support 4;. This work support is provided with the usual depending apron or skirt 5. Said work support extends along the site of the feeding mechanism and in front thereof as shown in Fig. 6; and is preferably ivoted at a point at the rear of the machine so that it may be swung to one side to give access to the parts beneath it. The material is supported at the stitching point by a throat plate 6 which is provided with feed slots in which operate an auxiliary feed dog 7 and a main feed dog 8. These feed dogs are preferably given a differential movement as set forth fully in my prior application The throat plate is mounted at its forward end upon an arm 9. This arm 9 is secured to the main casing of the machine by screws 10, 10. This makes a very durable support for the throat plate. The needle passes through the slot 11 and the stitches are formed around a stitch tongue- The over-edge stitches are formed in the i iosent embodiment of the invention by a ieedle 13, an under thread carrying looper 1' -"and an overcdge carrying implement 15 w iich is in the form of a spreader and which shes the looper thread formed by the under looper and carries the same over the edge of the material for the needle to enter. It will be understood, of course, that the thread d looper and the spreader are interchangeable in this type of machine and so far as the trimming mechanism is concerned, any type of overedge stitching mechanism may be used. The needle 13 is carried by a needlebar 16 and this needle bar reciprocates in the overhanging arm 3. Mounted in said overhanging arm is the main actuating leverl? which is pivotally supported on a stud 18. This lever is actuated by a J'itman 19 which cooperates with a crank 2O ormed in the main actuating shaft 21. This main actuating shaft 21 carries a belt wheel 22 and said shaft is disposed in a horizontal plane intermediate the overhanging arm and the work support. The pitman 19 is comparatively short and therefore the main actuating lever 17 may be reciprocated at high speed with very little vibration in the actuating parts. Said lever 17 is connected to the needle bar 16 by a link 23.

The looper 14 is mounted on the carrier 24 and said looper is actuated by a link 25 which connects with aball stud 26 attached to the carrier 24 and a ball stud 27 attached to a depending arm 28 connected to the supporting sleeve 29 forming a part of the main lever 17.

My improved trimming mechanismv consists of a lower stationary trimming blade 30 which is supported by a bracket- 31 by means of a clamp 32. The bracket 31 is mounted on a supp rting block 33. A suitable screw passing through an elongated slot 34 in the base of the bracket 31 is threaded into the block and serves to hold the bracket firmly attached to the block, and at the same time permits the bracket to be adjusted in a direction parallel with the front of the bed plate 1. This block 33 is secured to the bed plate in any suitable manner. At the end of the block 33 there is an upstanding plate 35 which is firmly secured tothe block. Said plate is provided with an open slot 36 which is adapted to straddle the neck of an adjusting screw 37 which carries'a fixed collar 38 engaging at the rear of the plate 35 while the head of the screw engages the front of the plate. This screw is threaded into an opening 39 in the bracket 31 and serves as a means for shifting the bracket.

Cooperating with the stationary trimming blade 30 is a movable trimming blade 40. Said movable trimming blade is curved on the arc of a circle, and said blade is mounted in a supporting head 41. Said head is split as indicated at 42 and is provided with a recess 43 curved to conform to the shape of the blade 40, which recess is undercut so as to firmly grip and hold the blade. The edges of the blade are slightly tapered to facilitate a rigid mounting of the blade in the supporting head. A screw 44 threaded into the opening 45 (see Fig. 3) causes the supporting head to firmly grip the blade. This supporting head is mounted in turn on across head 46. Said cross head is provided with laterally extending flanges 47 and 48 and the shank 49 of the supporting head for themovable trimming' blade rests be tween these flanges. A screw 50 passes through an elongated slot 51 in the shank 49 and is threaded intothe opening 52 in the cross head. By loosening this screw, the entire supporting head maybe adjusted toward and from a vertical plane containing the line of feed. Inasmuch as the movable blade 40 is also capable of a-djustment'toward and from. this same plane,- it will readily be, seen that the. trimming blades may be set so as to trim at a greater or less distance from the line of feed or the needle punctures in the fabric, thus the extent of the edge covered by the overedge seam may be varied.

The cross head 46 is fixed to the rod 53. Said cross head also slides freely on a post 54. The post 54 is fixed to the bracket 55 (see Fig. 1) while the rod 53 slides vertically in bearings formed in this bracket 55. This post 54 prevents the trimming head from swinging laterally. The cross head 46 is reciprocated vertically by means of a link 56 which is pivoted at 57 to the lever 17 (see Fig. 4). Said cross head is capable of being disconnected from this link 56 as shown in Fig. 5. Mounted in the cross head is a spring pressed bolt 58. The link is provided with a recess 59 adapted to receive the end of the bolt, and when said bolt is in locking engagement with the link, then the crosshead will be reciprocated vertically, and this will cause the movable trim- Ito ming blade to reciprocate and cooperate with the stationary trimming blade in trimming the fabric. The bolt 58 is forced inwardly by a spring 60 which bears against a collar 61 fixed to the bolt. Said bolt at its outer end isprovided with av hand piece 62 which enables the bolt to be readily withdrawn from the recess in the link,-thus freeing the trimming head from the link. The bolt is held in retracted position against the action of the spring by a pin 63 which is adapted to engage the recess inthe crosshead. The bolt is withdrawn and turned slightly so as to move this pin 63 out of alinement with the recess in the cross head and this will hold the bolt withdrawn. By turning the bolt the pin may be brought into register with the recess and then the spring will force the bolt forward as soon as the recess 59 comes into register with the inner end of the bolt. When the cross head is released from the link 55, the spring 64 operates to raise the cross head to inoperative position. It will be noted that the link 56 is substantially vertical, and therefore the cross head carrying the trimming blade is moved up and down by a direct connection with the main actuating lever, and a direct thrust imparted to said movable trimming blade. This forms a very efficient trimming mechanism which may be operated at high speed and with little or no unnecessary vibration in the parts.

In order that the trimmed ofl' edge of the fabric may-be deflected away from the operating parts of the machine, I have provided a strip guide 65. Said strip guide is carried by a supporting arm 66 (see Fig. 3) and this supporting arm is provided with threaded sockets 67 adapted to receive screws 68 which pass through suitable open ings 69in the supporting bracket 31 for the lower stationary trimming member. This strip guide has a forwardly projecting portion 70 which prevents the trimmed ofl strip from passing back underneath the throat plate. It also has an upwardly projecting part 71, and a forwardly projecting part 72 which serves to guide the strip downwardly so that it will come into engagement with the main portion of the strip guide 65 and be turned backwardly on to the supporting arm 9 which carries the throat plate. The strip guide 65 being mounted on the bracket carrying the stationary trimmer, will be adjusted with the stationary trimmer and will therefore be always maintained in proper position relative to the trimming members.

The material is held on the work support by a presser foot 7 3 which is of the usual construction and further description thereof is not thought necessary.

' In the operation of the machine, the material to be stitched is fed over the work support by the feed dogs which present the material first to the trimming members where the edge is trimmed and thence to the stitching mechanism where the edge is covered by the stitching threads thus forming the overedge stitches. The needle and un der looper and the upper movable trimming blade are all actuated from the main lever in the overhanging arm which in turn is actuated by a direct connection with the main shaft. The main shaft is very short and is disposed in a horizontal plane above the plane of the Work support and below the overhanging arm so that it is very centrally located in the machine, thus making the machine very compact, which contributes to a very light and durable high speed machine especially adapted for overedging fabrics. The operator may release the movable trimming member from the actuating link therefor and the springwill at once move the cross head to inoperative position and carry the movable trimming blade out of the way so that the machine may be used for stitching Without trimming. The stationary trimming blade is readily adjustable in a direction at right angles to the line of feed, and likewise the movable trimming blade may be readily adjusted so as to cooperate with the movable blade in different set positions of adjustment and thus the width of the edge extending to the right of the needle may be varied very readily.

It will be obvious that minor changes in the details of construction and the arrangement of the parts may be'made without departing from the spirit of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A sewing machine including in combination, a work support, an overhanging arm, a main rotating shaft located intermediate the, work support and the overhanging arm, a lever mounted in said overhanging arm, a looper beneath the work support, a needle bar, a needle carried thereby, means for reciprocating said needle bar from said lever, means for actuating said looper beneath the work support from said lever, a trimming mechanism including a movable trimming blade, and means for operating the movable trimming blade from said lever.

2. A sewing machine including in combination, a work support, an overhanging arm, a main rotating shaft located intermediate the work support and the overhanging arm, a lever mounted in said overhanging arm, a looper beneath the work support, a needle-bar, a needle carried thereby, means for reciprocating said needle bar from said lever, means for actuating said looper from said lever, a trimming mechanism including a movable trimming blade, a vertically reciprocating link connected with said lever, trimming head onwhich said mov able trimming blade is mounted, means for guiding said trimming head whereby it will be moved vertically, and means for detachably connecting said head to said link.

A sewing machine including in combination, a work support, an overhanging arm, a main rotating shaft located intermediate the work support and the overh anging arm, a lever mounted in said overhanging arm, a looper beneath the work support, a needle bar, a needle carried thereby, means for reciprocating said needle bar from said: lever, a trimming mechanism including a movable trimming blade, a vertically reciprocating link connected with said lever, a trimming head on which said movable trimming blade is mounted, spaced ver tical posts for guiding the said trimming head, and means for detachably connecting said trimming head to said link.

4. A sewing machine including in combination, a work support, an overhanging arm, a main rotating shaft located inter mediate the work support and overhanging arm, a lever mounted in said overhanging arm and having its inner end directly connected to said main shaft, a needle bar reciprocating in the overhanging arm, a needle carried; thereby, means for directly connecting the needle bar to said lever at the outer end thereof, a link connected to said lever between its fulcrum and the connection to the needle bar and vertically reciprocated thereby, a trimming mechanism including a movable trimming blade, and means for connecting said movable trimming blade to said link.

5. A sewing machine including in combination, a. work support, an overhanging arm, a main rotating shaft located intermediate the work support and overhanging arm, a lever mounted in said overhanging arm and having its inner end directly connected to said main shaft, a needle bar reciprocating in the overhanging arm, a needle carried thereby, means for directly connecting the needle bar to said lever at the outer end thereof, a link connected to said lever between its fulcrum and the connection to the needle bar and vertically reciprocated thereby, a trimming mechanism including a movable trimming blade, means for connecting said movable trimming blade to said link, a looper mounted beneath the work support, an arm carried by said lever and projecting downwardly therefrom at its fulcruim point, and a link connecting said arm to the looper. 1

6. An overedge sewing machine including in combination, a work support, stitch forming mechanism, a trimming mechanism for trimming the fabric in advance of the stitching point, a throat plate, and means located above the work support and depending beneath the throat plate for supporting the forward end of the throat plate so as to provide a clearance space beneath the forward end of the throat plate, a-strip guide extending underneath said supporting means for thethroat plate, for directing the' trimmed ofi strip away from. the stitch forming mechanism.

7. An overedge sewing machine including in combination, a work support, stitch forming mechanism, atrimming mechanism for trimming the fabric in advance of the stitching point, a throat plate, and means located above the work support and depending beneath the throat plate for supporting the forward end of the throat plate so as to provide a clearance space beneath the forward end of the throat plate, a. strip guide extending underneath said supporting means for the throat plate, for directing the trimmed off strip away from the stitch forming mechanism, means whereby said trimming mechanism maybe adjusted laterally relative. to the needle, and means for supporting the strip guide whereby it is adjusted with the trimming mechansm.

8. "Ah overedge sewing machine includ ing in combination, a work support, stitch forming mechanism, a trimming mechanism for trimming the fabric in advance of the stitching point, a throat plate, and means located above the work support and depending beneath the throat plate for supporting the forward end of the throat plate so asto provide a clearance space beneath the forward end of the throat plate, a strip guide extending underneath said supporting means for the throat plate, for directing the trimmed oii strip away from the stitch forming mechanism, said trimming mechanism ineluding a lower stationary trimming blade, an adjustable bracket carrying said blade whereby said blade may be adjusted laterally relative to the needle, and means for supporting the strip guide on the bracket for the stationary trimming member, whereby the same is adjusted therewith.

In testimony whereof, I affix my signature.

DUDLEY S. SEYMOUR. 

